Unless you’re an utmost fan of Tim Burton or one of those people who live to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas or Coraline in a non-stop movie marathon, you probably won’t see the appeal of Scarygirl right away. It definitely channels in those previous products, with its stitched up hero and somewhat gloomy yet still vividly designed worlds. But, hey, what else would you expect from a platformer based on the graphic novel by Nathan Jurevicius? A quick cash-in? Nope, TikGames, normally prone to PlayStation Network development, actually took the time to really “get” what the story was about, and translate it into a good game experience. It’s not quite great, due to some iffy problems that surface later on in the game, but you’re sure to like it. Scarygirl herself is without parents, but lives happily in a tree home that was built by a kind, oversized octopus, where she’s lived in peace, despite a few dreams occupying her head and leaving her wondering about some unanswered questions.
When her octopus buddy inquires about changing leaf formations and the effect it can have on the forest world, she sets out to find answers, not only to what’s changing the environment, but why she’s having said dreams. This quest mainly involves going throughout a stage and completing a number of side goals, such as pulling demon weeds from the ground that otherwise block your way, defeating a large scale of enemies, and collecting gems. Usual platforming stuff, and those who are completists will no doubt go through the stage more than once, just to make sure they got everything. As for Scarygirl’s combat techniques; she uses a special jump rope to attack her enemies. She can unleash light and heavy attacks, which can be chained together into combos, ones that knock baddies into the air or makes them susceptible for throwing. She can also grab onto vines and swing up to higher areas, and temporarily hover by flinging her rope in the air. Lastly, she can call upon temporary demon powers to give her enhanced attacks, such as a huge monster mouth that devours everything in its reach. You’ll need to make sure you have sufficient enough power to pull those off, though.
The gameplay itself isn’t half bad. The vine swinging takes a little getting used to due to wonky physics, and it’s easy to accidentally walk into demon weeds and get “stuck”, hitting them repeatedly. Otherwise, they’re quite responsive, and chaining together combos is pretty cool, especially when you send enemies sailing. The only real problem we had with the controls involves throwing enemies that are stunned. Slamming them on the ground is simple, but when it comes to hitting someone from a distance with precision, it’s a bit off due to the questionable targeting. TikGames probably should’ve made this much easier on the player, especially in the later parts of the game. There is another problem with enemy balance. When you start off, they’re not too bad, with small and big ones scattered throughout. But about an hour in, you’ll find they come at you more often, making it strenuous to chain together effective combos and clear a path. The platforming stays on par the whole way, but we could’ve done without having to deal with the barrage of monsters.
We do, however, like the option of playing along with a friend. Though not supported online, the local two-player is excellent, as you can team up with a buddy and combine attacks to greater measure. It definitely makes the trip a little easier to take than trying to tackle it on your own – especially if your skills in platforming aren’t so hot. The boss encounters included in the game are excellent too. Rather than hitting an enemy blindly with attacks, you have to time their techniques and find a weakness around them, just like in the classic days. We couldn’t get enough of these. Scarygirl’s appearance is superb. The moody environments will definitely get you in the mood for a Tim Burton-style product, whether you’re wandering around a gloomy forest or fighting your way up a monstrous owl-laden tree. They’re fully realized in 3D too, like Namco Bandai’s Klonoa games, but you run through them in 2D, so the game has a lot in common with some of the better platformers from the old-school days. The animation could’ve been a bit more detailed, but Scarygirl makes quite a dandy heroine, and her whip attacks are fun to watch. We got a kick out of some of the oversized enemies too, including demon goats and frisky cobras. Yes, I just said “frisky cobras”.
More could’ve been done with the sound, I think. The music is atmospheric and fun to listen to, but you definitely won’t confuse it with anything Danny Elfman has worked on. It’s just not on that level. The voicework is very minimal, save for the Christopher Lee-like narrator who lays out each stage’s tasks for you. And the sound effects consist of minimal whip noises, mild creature sounds and Scarygirl’s occasional grunts – nothing spectacular, but lending to the experience. Would’ve been nice to give her a voice, though. Was Christina Ricci too busy with Pan-Am to hire, I wonder…? Scarygirl’s 1200 Microsoft point price and overhauling difficulty may make this a platformer that not everyone is willing to tackle. But if you’ve got proper funds and a skill set to match, you’ll have a good time with Scarygirl. While the presentation isn’t as top shelf as those nifty stop-motion animated films I mentioned, it definitely holds up compared to other platformers of this nature. And the gameplay is fun too, as long as you don’t develop an over reliance to throwing things around. Check out the demo and see if these silly little scares are for you.
